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Life lessons -- and Jaws of Life lessons -- at Jr. Academy in Leominster

By Alana Melanson, amelanson @sentinelandenterprise.com

Updated:
08/12/2014 07:20:59 AM EDT

LEOMINSTER -- There was a sense of awe on the faces of the members of the Leominster Junior Police/Fire Academy on Monday morning as they watched firefighters rip apart a donated car with the Jaws of Life -- and then got to try their hand at some of the tools, too.

Eli McGee, 12, a seventh-grader at Samoset Middle School, said he never thought he'd get a chance to don gloves and protective eye gear and use a tool to pry open the car doors.

"The Jaws of Life thing was really cool," he said.

In addition to the Jaws of Life, Leominster firefighters demonstrated the use of various pieces of fire and emergency apparatus, including a ladder truck.

The demonstrations are just one component of a free, weeklong program at the Boys & Girls Club. It's geared toward sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders, who get to have a taste of what it's like to be part of public safety, said Officer Oswaldo Ramos, school resource officer at Leominster High School.

With most of the program leaders having military backgrounds, there's also an element of discipline through marching, drilling and team-building exercises, he said, but it's also highly educational.

"We're not here to make policemen, firefighters and military soldiers," said Officer Michael Marrone, school resource officer at both Samoset and Skyview middle schools. "We're here to help kids be productive in the world."

The program, now in its seventh year, also ran for two weeks in July, Ramos said.

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While it's only going for three total weeks this year, in other years it has been held for as many six weeks, he said.

Ramos estimated that between 70 and 80 local children, mostly from Leominster and neighboring communities, including Fitchburg, have participated this year.

Participants are chosen though a number of ways, Marrone said, including referrals from school guidance counselors and teachers. Some are invited because they've exhibited an interest in community service or the military, while others are struggling in school or have some police involvement, he said.

"We don't take all honor-roll kids," Marrone said.

He said he has seen some kids who are apathetic in school find a spark of passion at the program.

"These kids are searching, they're looking for something in the world where they fit in," he said. "It's important to expose them to different things in the world, and what they can do and how they can do it."

Among the other activities this week will be a mock trial, drug and alcohol education courtesy of the Leominster Community Action Team, and a lesson on life in correctional facilities by MCI Shirley officials, Marrone said.

In past weeks, a Leominster detective has come to teach the basics of crime-scene investigation, he said.

Matthew Elenbaas, 15, an incoming freshman at Leominster High, liked his first experience with the academy so much that he came back for a second week of camp. He said he enjoyed the military-style marching and paintball marksmanship practice the best, along with the police-patrol role-playing scenarios.

Matthew, who aspires to join the Army, said his experience at the academy has also changed his view of the police.

"They care about what they do and the people they serve," he said. "It's really awesome."

For Conner Swaine, 13, this is his third week of the academy over two summers.

"I'd come here every day if I could," the Samoset eighth-grader said.

Jami Parker, 19, a sophomore at Fitchburg State University studying criminal justice, started as a cadet in 2007. Two years in, she aged out of the program, but it affected her so much that she wrote the officers a letter expressing her desire to be involved longer. Soon after, Parker became the program's first junior instructor, a position she has held since.

"You get a lot out of this program -- leadership, teamwork, respect," she said.

Parker aspires to join the Air Force or Army. She later wants to be a police detective, and eventually a federal agent.

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